The Shawshank Redemption

When a play is based on a film that has become iconic and that film is adapted from a novella by Stephen King, expectations can become very distorted. We’re probably all guilty at some point of saying “Oh the book is far better than the film” or “the film is far better than the play”, but that is not always true, and especially in this case. Owen O’Neil and David John’s adaptation is first class as is David Esbjornson’s direction and equally Gary McCann’s design. The whole comes together in this Bill Kenwright production in a way that is sharp and focused.

Of course it also depends on an excellent cast and here we have it, an ensemble of well drilled pro’s who capture the dark mood of the piece, the tension and the terror and the sense of despair that defies any chance of hope.
In this stage version, part narrated by inmate Redding, we skip any pre-amble as we see Andy Dufresne humiliated and naked in a line up of new inmates. Soon after he is exposed to the horrors of prison life, bullying and gang rape but we also see that he is that glimmer of hope and that defiant sense of resistance.
Joe Absolom, probably best known for his TV work and up against the memory of the film’s cast, gives a stunning performance of the wrongly convicted man as he manipulates his situation, manages his weaknesses and his strengths to overcome the injustice. Given that this is only Absolom’s second stage production he is first class and one can hope that he spends more time displaying his talents in live theatre.
Ben Onwukwe is equally impressive as Red, the hardened convict whose ability to source luxuries gives him kudos and a heightened position in the hierarchy of prison life. His gentle and paternal presence is brought into sharp contrast when he reveals the nature of his crime.
Time passes slowly but the play moves at a pace, popular music is used to mark the passage of the years but little else changes in the grim surroundings of Shawshank.Mark Heenahan as Warden Stammas is darkly menacing as a pious and corrupt figure, hiding behind the bible, the perfect oppressor. Leigh Jones is terrifying as the sinister and violent Rooster, those staring eyes and that satanic laugh the stuff of nightmares, and Kenneth Jay’s gentle portrayal of institutionalised Brooksie is moving throughout.
The whole is beautifully lit by Chris Davey who creates an atmosphere of grim hopelessness, essential to making this drama work on stage in one static set.
So Stephen King’s novella remains at the heart, the film becomes a memory, and you leave the theatre with the sense that perhaps the stage was the true and right destiny for this story.
Theatre Royal Brighton
23 January
Andrew Kay
[rating 5/5]